AusCann appoints CEO

Medical cannabis company AusCann Group Holdings has appointed international pharmaceutical executive Ido Kanyon as its new chief executive, nearly five months after it was announced that Elaine Darby would resign from the role.

Mr Kanyon has 15 years' senior executive experience, most recently at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world's largest generic pharmaceutical company.

At the US-based Teva, Mr Kanyon most notably served as the global head of its speciality pipeline, responsible for a multi-billion portfolio related to maximising the value of the company’s research and development investments for new medicines.  

He started his career in the agritech research and development field, holding a bachelor of science degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's in business administration from IE Business School in Spain.

Mr Kanyon will start on May 22 and receive a base salary of $420,000 per annum.

AusCann chairman Mal Washer said Mr Kanyon was the standout candidate for the job due to his leadership acumen and track record of commercial achievements.

“Ido is very highly regarded in the pharmaceutical industry and having worked both for startups and for one of the largest pharmaceutical firms worldwide, he understands AusCann’s start-up origins and where the firm is headed.” he said.

“We are confident that his experience, energy and drive will successfully lead AusCann into its next phase of growth as a pharmaceutical development, sales and marketing business.”

In September, AusCann announced Ms Darby would step down as part of the company’s transition from a startup focused on licensing and product development to a pharmaceutical production and sales business.

Executive director Paul MacLeman has been serving as interim chief executive since the start of this year.

Shares in AusCann were up 4.94 per cent to trade at 42 cents each at 4pm AEDT.